Bottle-washer.



No. 645,389. Patented Mar. I3, |900.A

C. H. & H. B. FISCHER.

BOTTLE WASHER.

(Application ld Feb. 4, 1899.)

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UNTTRD STATES PATENT Grrr-CR.

CHARLES II. FISCHER AND HENRY B. FISCHER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

BOTTLE-WASH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,389, dated March 13, 1900.

Application filed February 4, 1899. Serial No. 704,459. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concer-w:

Be it known that we, CHARLES H. FISCHER and HENRY B. FISCHER, citizens of the United States, and residents of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle- Washers; and we do declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, attention being called to the accompanying drawings, and the referencenumerals marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in bottle-washers of the kind illustrated in two patents issued to us on June 7, 1898, and numbered, respectively, 605,179 and 605,180. In these devices the bottles are rst scoured with sand or another medium having a similar action, the same being forcibly thrown against the inside of the -inverted bottle by a stream of Water which carries this medium. After such action water is injected to rinse the bottle and to remove loosened impurities, as well as to wash out any remaining particles of the scouring medium. VThe parts which functionate for the purpose of injecting either the scouring or the rinsing current are substantially the same, nor is the position of the bottle changed, the change of operations beobtained by simply manipulating the same parts accordingly.

The leading feature of our present invention is an improved construction of these parts, whereby without changing the position of the bottle the latter is subjected first to the action of a scouring-current composed of sand and water and after that to a ushingcurrent of water alone.

Another important new feature is a rotary bottle-support whereby the bottle is rotated about its axis, so that the action of the two operating-currents against its inside is more evenly distributed, rendering it also possible to reach depressions therein, especially of bottles having an uneven orinwardly-projecting bottom.

In addition our invention embraces minor festures of construction relating to parts operating partly in conjunction with the parts mentioned and also to some extent independently, all of which are explained at the proper time. t

In the following specification, and particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof, is found a full description of our invention, its use, mode of operation, parts, and construction, which latter is also illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in .Which-- Figure 1 shows in a central vertical section the apparatus com plete and read y'for use with a bott-1e in position. Fig. 2 is a top view of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3 3'of Fig. 1 lool:- ing up from such'line of section. Figs tand 5 show, at reduced scale, the first in top view, the other in elevation, means for operating the rotary bottle-rest. They also show the adaptability of the device and these operating means arranged in series. Fig. 6 is part of a sectional view similar to Fig. 1 and illustrates a modified construction of the parts shown. Figs. 7 and 8 are views similar to Fig. 3 and show modified construct-ions of the parts illustrated in the latter.

Sand is used in this case as a scouring medium and water as a carrier for it, .whereby the former is thrown against the interior surfaces of the invertedly-supported bottle, loosening and removing by its impact as well as frictional contact any imp urities in the bottie. After the combined action of sand and Water the latter is used alone for rinsing and flushing purposes, whereby the bottle is Washed out, removing the loosenedimpurities as well as the sand previously used. The scouring-current (Sand and water) and the rinsing-current (water alone) are discharged from the same nozzle, which is indicated by 9, and forms the upper terminus of a pipe 11, which conveys these currents. Water under pressure is supplied to pipe 11 from a pipe 12, which may be a service-pipe of a water-works system or connected otherwise in a manner to obtain the requisite pressure. Steam-pressure or a steam-jet may also be used as an actuating medium. The supply through pipe 12 is controlled by any suitable means-like a cock,for instance-whereby the water may be entirely shut off when the apparatus is not used or during intermissions when changing bottles. This water forms the rinsing-current for iiushing the bottles and also acts as a carrier for the sand, which latter when required is admitted through lateral openings 13 in pipe 11. The sand is drawn in by reason of the suction caused by the Water passing up through pipe 11. The sand required for such purpose is contained in a cup-shaped vessel 14, surrounding pipe 1l, and is provided in sufficient quantities to till up the space around and above these openings, so as to be always present in front of them. The currents discharged from nozzle 9 into the invertedly-supported bottle leave the latter through its mouth, the sand settling at once to the bottom of vessel 1-1, while the water passes oit by overflowing either over the top of vessel 11 or through overflow-openings 15 in the sides thereof. This overiiow 4water is collected by an lannular gutter 16,

from which it passes away through a wastepipe 17. The discharge from the mouth of the bottle does notdescend directly, but is intercepted by a spreader 18, upon which it drops and whereby it is prevented from passing down close to pipe 11, in which case it would wash the sand away from in front of openings 13. This discharge from the bottle is further intercepted by a strainer 19,-the object of which is to arrest larger objects, like pieces of cork, paper, dpe., washed out of the bottle and to prevent them from passing down into the sand.

The liushing-current required after the use ofthe scouring-current is obtained by excl uding the sand from the water which discharges from nozzle 9 and which is done by temporarily closing holes 13 in pipe 11, through which the sand is admitted. This is done by means arranged to be accessible for convenient manipulation for so closing openings 13 and afterward for opening them again when another bottle is in position to receive the scouring-current. These closing means (indicated by 2l in Figs. 1, 3, and 7) resemble in action a sliding gate and operate with a lateral movement, which isvadapted to bring them across these openings, thereby closing them, while a similar movement renders them open again. These openings pass through nipples projecting from pipe 11, whereby the surface to be actually covered-'for the purpose of closing these openings is limited to the projecting edge of these nipples, whereby interference by sand is also accordingly limited. These means 21 are provided at the lower ends of arms 22, depending from a hub 23, mounted on pipe 11 and supported on a shoulder 2l thereon. The hub is held in place by a nut 25. An operating lever or handle 26, properly bent to reach over the edge of vessel 14C or through one of the overflow-openings 15, is provided and extends outwardly to be accessible for convenient manipulation. This manipulation consists of rotatinghub 23, whereby arms 22 are moved laterally to carry the closing` means either away from the nipples or to cause them to lie across the openings therein. In detail these closing means consist of pli- .the closure from coming to a seat.

able material forminga membrane stretched between pins 27, projecting from the lower ends of arms 22. In view of the peculiar difficulties connected with the closing of these openings owing to the sand in front of them the use ot' a pliable closure which yields to the suction whereby it is drawn closely against the edge of the nipples is preferable to one of solid material, which is apt to seize particles of the sand between it and the edge of the nipples and by holding them there prevents In the modification shown in Fig. 7 this membrane (indicated by 21') is si-mply stretched between three pins 27, forming a triangle, with the ends of the nipples between'the sides thereof and which may be moved to cause these sides tolie over the open ends of the nipples,thereby closing them. The open position is shown in the same figure in dotted lines. In the modification shown in Fig. 8 the nipples are s im- `'ply longer and bent and the motion of theV closing means is to and from the openings. No membrane is required in this case, the lowerends 2l of arms 22 simply closing against the open nipples. The most suitable material for these closing membranes is rubber,which may be in form of plain rubber bands. Formation of a vacuum within pipe 11, due to a completethat is, air-tight-closure of openings 13 and which would interfere with the proper operation of the device when the rinsing-current is used, is prevented by slits 23, sutliciently tine to exclude sand, but permitting airand water to enter. These slits may be horizontally or vertically disposed.

In order to reach the space between the bottom and side of bottles having, an inwardlyprojecting bottom --as, for instance, shown in Fig. 1-the upper end of nozzle 91's slightly bent to one side, as shown at 29, thereby directing the discharge of the currents accordingly.

The means for supporting the bottles consist of spring-Wiresshaped, as shown, to form a shoulder at 31 to support the shoulder of the bottle and having downwardly-projecting branches 32, which converge and are adapted to embrace the neck of the bottle, thereby centering the same. vThese branches are free vat their lower ends and adapted to yield for the purpose of adjust-ing themselves to bottle-necks of various diameters. The bottlerests are supported by the upper part of vessel 14, which may be extended upwardly for such purpose to form in this manner a supporting-fra me for the former. To permit the convenient removal of the bottle-rests as a whole, which becomes necessary when access to strainer 19 is desired for the purpose of emptying the same, the wires of. the former all connect to a ring 33, which may rest either directly upon the upper edge ot vessel 14 or upon a flange 34 thereat. This permits also rotation of the bottle-rest, whereby a more complete distribution of the operating-currents over the interior of the bottles is ob- IOD IIC

tained. In case of such rotation balls 35 are interposed to reduce the friction..

These bottle-washers may also be arranged in series, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which caseit becomes preferable to arrange for such rotation by power which proceeds from a convenient source and is arranged and transmitted in a manner to permit rotation o f all of a series at once. For such purpose they may all be operatively connected for transmission of the power, which may be, for instance, by gear connection or bya'belt 3G, as shown. In such case a ring 37 is interposed, as shown in Fig. 6, acting as a medium which receives and transmits the power. It rests on balls 35, supported by flange 34, andl carries the ring with the bottle-rests, which is operatively connected to it by a key 38, occupying a notch 39, as shown in Fig. 4. The outside of this ring is provided with the means which receive'and transmit the power, being teeth, in case gear connection is used, or a groove 41 to receive the belt assumed in this case. This arrangement and construction permit the removal and replacing of the bottle-rests without interfering with the rotary operation of the apparatus. As a prime mover any suitable motor may be used or a water-motor 42, driven by the waste water from the device and supplied by waste-pipe 17. It transmits the power by means of aset of bevel-gears 43 and an upright shaft 44, which carries a driving-pulley 45. When so used in series, one supply-pipe 12 and a common gutter 1G are used for all the devices. The operating-levers 2G are all connected by a rod 46, which has one handle 47. A stop 48 is provided which by limiting the motion ot' the operating-levers indicates the proper position of the parts-that is, it shows whether openings 13 are open'or closed. It is located midway between two adjoining operating-levers, as shown in Fig. 4, and by coming in contact with one of them limits motion in one direction, while contact with the other limits motion in the opposite direction. Since all the operating-levers are connected by rod 46, the stoppage of one limits the motion of all the others.

A guard 49 is provided to prevent splashing through overflow-openings 15 or over the top of vessel 14 in case the same is not carried up sufficiently high. It may be supported in any suitable'way, as, for instance, by attachment to ring 33.

Having described our invention, we claim as new-' 1. In a bottle-washer the combination of a vessel which contains the scouring medium, a pipe passing through the same for conveying the medium which carries and propels the scouring medium, said vpipe being provided with lateral openings, to admit the scouring medium, closing means for controlling the passage through these openings, being supported in a manner to have a lateral movement with reference to these openings and whereby they are carried either past these latter, or caused to lie across them, and a bottle-rest adapted to support a bottle in an inverted position above the end of the pipe discharging the scouring-currents.

2. Ina bottle-washer the combination of a vessel which contains the scouring medium, a pipe passing through the same for conveying the medium which carries and propels the scouring medium, said pipe being provided with lateral openings, through which the scouring medium is drawn by suction, closing means for these openings consisting of a membrane adapted to yield to the suction when in front of these openings, thereby closing them, means for operating these vclosing means whereby they may be carried to the position mentioned or to one in which they leave the passage through these openings free, and a bottle-rest adapted to support a bottle in inverted position above the pipe discharging the cleaning-currents.

3. In a bottle-washer, the combination of a vessel which contains the scouring medium, a pipe passing through the same for conveying the medium which carries and propels the scouring medium, said pipe being provided with lateral openings to admit the scouring medium, closing means for controlling the passage through these openings, means to operate these closing means, providing a rotary motion whereby they may be carried across these openings with capacit-y to be stopped in front of them and a bottle-rest adapted to support a bottle in inverted position above the pipe discharging the cleaning-currents.

4. In a bottle-washer,l the combination of a vessel which contains the scouring medium, a pipe passing through the same for conveying the medium which carries and propels the scouring m edium,nipples projecting from this pipe through which the latter is drawn in by suction, slits provided in these nipples to prevent formation of a vacuum, and a bottle-rest which supports a bottle in inverted position above the pipe discharging the cleaning-currents.

5. In a bottle-washer the combination of a pipe adapted to discharge alternately a scouring and rinsing current and having its discharge-nozzle bent at an angle and a bottlerest capable of rotation and adapted to support abottle in inverted position above the angular discharge end of the pipe mentioned.

6. In a bottle-washer, the combination of a pipe adapted to discharge the cleaning-currents, a bottle-rest to hold the bottles, While being washed and means to rotate the bottlerest which latter is removably supported on these rotating means.

7. In a bottle-washer, the combination of a pipe adapted to discharge the cleaning-currents, a rotary bottle-rest adapted to hold an inverted bottle above the end `ot such pipe and a ball-bearing on which the bottle-rest is supported.

8. In a bottle-washer the combination of a IOO pipe adapted to discharge the cleaning-currents, a bottle-rest to hold a bottle in inverted posit-ion above the end of such pipe and a strainer supported below the mouth or" the inverted bottle being of cup shape, having a same with reference to the pipe iirst 1nen tioned, the lower ends of these branches being free to yield for the purpose of admitting bottie-necks of various diameters.

10. Bottle-washers arranged in series, each consisting of a pipe adapted to discharge alternately a scouring and rinsing current into and against the interior of the bottle, va bottle-rest for each pipe to holda bottle in position to receive these currents,said bottle-rests being operatively connected for rotation, and means whereby such rotation is obtained.

11. Bottle-washers arranged in series and each consisting of a pipe adapted to discharge alternately a scouring and a Hushing current, operatinglevers whereby this alternating action is controlled and which are all connected so as to be manipulated together and a stop located between two adjoininglevers, adapted to limit the motion of one ot' them in one direction and of the other in the other direction all as shown and for the purpose described.

I n testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES H. FISCHER. HENRY B. FISCHER.

Witnesses:

C. SPENGEL; C. HARRY FISCHER. 

